Asked why she was so positive about Labour's future despite poor by-election performances, she said: "I think we are coming together now, we’ve got a new chief whip, Nick Brown, who’s one of the most experienced party managers in the House of Commons.

"I think that as we come together, as you hear less noises off, I believe we can close the polling gap."

Ms Abbott went on to defend the party's stance on Brexit, saying party colleague Steve Reed was wrong to suggest the party could not represent the views of both Leave and Remain voters.

Abbott is one of Corbyn's closest allies, but he may not appreciate her setting such ambitious targets

She added: "Access to the single market and freedom of movement are inextricably linked and it would be wrong, and the Labour party has said this over and over again, it would be wrong to put the economy anything other than first.

"There's going to be negotiation, but it's misleading to suggest to people, as some people do, that we can access to the single market and just dump freedom of movement."

Labour MP Diane Abbott gets trolled on live TV

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